Means for mounting auxiliary apparatus on a portable feed mill

ABSTRACT

A shredder attachment and an infeed conveyor attachment each mounted on a portable feed mill and mixer for delivering material to the inlet portion of a hammer mill and, selectively, to shred or otherwise reduce the conveyed material prior to entry thereof into the mill. Both attachments are moveable between lowered operative positions relative to the feed mill and mixer, and raised storage positions thereon.

United States Patent [191 Kanengieter 11 WMHAW .lime 26, 1973 [54] MEANS FOR MOUNTING AUXILIARY 3,547,358 12/1970 Anderson et a1 241/189 R APPARATUS ON A PORTABLE FEED MILL 3,620,154 11/1971 Dodgen et a1. 241/152 A [75] Inventor: Glenn G. Kanengieter, Prairie, Minn.

Primary ExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. [73] Asslgnee: g c f Company Attorney-John D. Gould and Arthur E. Ringsrud nc., wa onna, mm.

[22] Filed: Oct. 28, 1971 [57] ABSTRACT [2]] Appl. No.: 193,315

A shredder attachment and an infeed conveyor attachment each mounted on a portable feed mill and mixer g ghfigi for delivering material to the inlet portion of a hammer [58] d 7 152 A mill and, selectively, to shred or otherwise reduce the I ea c 241 conveyed material prior to entry thereof into the mill. Both attachments are moveable between lowered operative positions relative to the feed mill and mixer, and [56] UNITE S SF ZFF E 'S SZ TENTS raised storage positions thereon. 3,263,405 8/ 1966 Rohmfeld 241/223 X 11 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures l 24 1 6'5 zs 31 4/ 6'? 62 1 I 57 1 l g 67 J? V 13 11; 1

mcmtmuuzsmn snmaurz MRN hh Wm v Q INVENTOR.

"M M a mw Q arm/rum MEANS FOR MOUNTING AUXILIARY APPARATUS ON A PORTABLE FEED MILL SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An important object of this invention is the provision of shredding and infeeding attachments for a portable feed mill and mixer wherein the attachments can be quickly and easily moved between an operative position, for feeding material to the mill and for chopping, shredding or otherwise reducing the material before feeding the same to the hammer mill, and raised storage positions, wherein the attachments are' out of the way and take very little space on the machine.

Another object of this invention is the provision of novel holding means for quickly and easily securing the attachments against movement away from their storage positions, and as quickly and easily releasing them for operation.

To the above ends, I provide a shredder housing having spaced side walls at the inlet opening of the hammer mill, the shredder housing containing a shredder rotor mountedon a rotor shaft 'journalled in bearings at the side walls. The shredder housing is mounted on the hammer mill casing by a pair'of laterally spaced parallel arms having inner ends pivotally connected to the easing on aligned generally horizontal'axes parallel to the axis of the rotor shaft. The shredder rotor shaft is operatively coupled by pulleys and a belt to a drive shaft parallel therewith, the aligned mounting axes of said arms and the drive shaft defining a plane slightly below which the shredder rotor shaft is disposed when the shredder is lowered to its operative position. When the shredderis raisedto its storage position, the rotor shaft axis is disposed above or at the opposite side of the above-mentioned plane, the arrangement being such that the belt is loosened between the pulleys so thatno power is delivered to the rotor shaft. A releasable holding device holds the shredder attachment securely in its raised storage position.

The conveyor attachment includes an elongated frame, parallel rollers journalledin opposite ends of the frame, and an endless flexible conveyor element entrained over the rollers. The conveyor frame is pivotally mounted to the side walls of the hammer mill casing on the axis of the inner one of the conveyor rollers, this axis beingparallel to the axis of pivotal mounting of the shredder attachment. The conveyor element is suitably driven from the drive mechanism of the mill and mixer; and holding means, including a part of the holding device for the shredder attachment, is used to releasably secure the conveyor attachment in a generally vertical storage position in close proximity to the shredder attachment in its raised storage position. When lowered to a generally horizontal or slightly sloping operative position, the conveyor attachment may be used to deliver material directly to the hammer mill with or without having the material subject to action of the shredder attachment, as desired.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a conventional portable feed mill and mixer, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to a portion of FIG. I, but showing a different position of some of the parts;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in top plan of the attachments of this invention disposed in their operative positions, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing a counterbalancing means of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. 1, a conventional portable feed mill and mixer is shown fragmentarily as comprising; a generally horizontal frame structure I supported by laterally spaced wheels 2 and adapted to be connected to a towing vehicle by a forwardly extending draft tongue or the like 3; a vertically disposed mixing tank 4 supported from the frame 1 by legs 5; a conventional hammer mill including a casing 6 therefore and a rotor shaft 7 journalled in the casing 6; a conventional dust separator 8; and conduits 9 and 10 the former of which may be assumed to extend from the hammer mill casing 6 to the dust separator 8, and the later of which may be assumed to deliver separated out particles from the separator 8 to the mixing tank 4. A conventional rotory hammer portion of the hammer mill is not shown, but may be assumed to be mounted on the rotor shaft 7 within the casing 6 in the usual manner. The rotor shaft 7 is driven by the customary means, such as the power take off unit of the towing vehicle, not shown, and other power transmission mechanism not shown but including drive belts 11 and belt engaging pulleys 12 mounted on the rotor or drive shaft 7 of the hammer mill. The hammer mill casing 6 includes a generally horizontal top wall 13, a rear wall 14, a front wall 15, and opposite side walls-16. The top wall 13, front wall 15 and side walls 16 define an inlet opening 17 to the interior of the hammer mill casing 6.

,The structure thus far described is conventional and well known, and further detail showing and description thereof is omitted in the interest of brievity.

A shredder attachment includes a generally rectangular housing 18 comprising a top wall 19, rear wall 20 and opposite side walls 21, the front and bottom of the housing 18 being open. The shredder attachment further includes a rotor 22, shown fragmentarily in FIG. 1, the rotor 22 including a plurality of cutter blades 23, two of which are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shredder rotor 22 is mounted on a rotor shaft 24 that is journalled in bearings 25 mounted on the front ends of a pair of elongated mounting arms 26 one each of which is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to a different one of the side walls 21, the arms 26 projecting generally rearwardly and downwardly from the housing 18. The axis of the rotor 22 and rotor shaft 24 is generally horizontally disposed, extending forwardly and rearwardly of the milling and mixing machine, parallel to the hammer mill shaft 7. The rear ends of the arms 26 are pivotally connected to adjacent ones of the hammer mill cas-' ative or storage position as shown in FIG. 2. The rear wall of the shredder attach-ment housing 18 is provided at its lower end with a flange 28 that rests upon the front edge portion of the top wall 13 of the hammer mill casing 6, to support the shredder attachment in its lowered operative position. The hammer mill rotor shaft 7 provides a drive shaft for the shredder attachment rotor 22, a plurality of endless belts 29 being entrained over pulleys 30 on the shaft 7 and other pulleys 31 on the shredder attachment rotor shaft 24.

It will be noted, with reference to FIG. 1, that when the shredder attachment is disposed in its operative position, the rotor shaft 24 is disposed at one side or just below a plane defined by the axes of the hammer mill shaft 7 and pivot bolts 27. With reference to FIG. 2, it will be seen that, when the shredder attachment is moved to its raised inoperative position, the axis of the shredder rotor shaft 24 is disposed at the other side of such a plane or above the same, the axis of the shaft 24 moving to one side or the other of dead center relationship between the axes of the shaft 7 and pivot bolts 27. It will be further noted that, when the shredder housing 18 and parts carried thereby are moved to their operative position, the belts 29 are in a taut condition and that, when the shredder attachment is moved to its raised inoperative storage position that the axis of the shredder rotor shaft 24 is much nearer the axis of the drive shaft 7 than when the shredder attachment in its operative position. Thus, when the shredder attachment is in its raised storage position, the belts 29 very loosely loop around the pulleys 30 and no effective driving engagement is obtained therebetween.

Means for holding the shredder attachment in its raised inoperative position of FIG. 2 comprises a pair of axially aligned anchoring pins 32 that project laterally outwardly from opposite side walls 16 of the hammer mill housing 6, and a pair of short links 33 each mounted on a different one of the mounting arms 26 for pivotal and sliding movements transversely of their respective arm 26 by means of one of a pair of mounting pins 34, one of which is shown in FIG. 4. Each of the links 33 is formed adjacent its free end to provide an opening 35 that is adapted to receive an adjacent one of the anchoring pins 32 when the shredder attachment is raised to its inoperative position. Each anchoring pin 32 is provided with a cotter pin or clip 36 to prevent accidental removal of the adjacent link 33 from its respective anchoring pin 32.

The conveyor attachment of this invention is indicated generally at 37 and comprises an elongated frame including a pair of laterally spaced parallel frame members 38 having a pair of rollers 39 and 40 journalled between their opposite ends, the rollers 39 and 40 having entrained thereover an endless flexible conveyor belt or chain 41. The roller 40 is mounted on a shaft 42 that is journalled in suitable aligned openings in the opposite frame members 38 and journalled in bearings 43 mounted on bearing brackets 44 bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the front edge portions of the hammer mill casing side walls 16, as indicated at 45. The roller 39 is mounted on a shaft 46 that is journalled in suitable bearings 47, one of which is shown in FIG. 1.

The conveyor belt 41 is adapted to be disposed in a generally horizontal or upwardly sloping operative position to deliver material to the inlet opening 17 of the hammer mill casing 16, and is supported in this position by one or more base members or legs 48, one of which is shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, the outer end of the conveyor may rest upon the ground. The brace member 48 is pivotally secured to a bracket 49 on an adjacent one of the frame members 38, and engages a flange 50 on the frame structure 1 to support the infeed conveyor 37 in its operative position. The conveyor belt 41 is driven by conventional drive mechanism not shown but including a jack shaft 51 be suitably journalled in the hammer mill casing 6, sprocket wheels 52 and 53 mounted on the shafts 42 and 51 respectively and an endless link chain 54 entrained over the sprocket wheels 52 and 53.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the infeed conveyor attachment 37 is moveable between its operative position of FIG. 1 and to a generally vertically disposed storage position of FIG. 2, about the axis of the shaft 42. Means for holding the conveyor attachment 37 in its inoperative raised position of FIG. 2 comprises a pair of elongated rigid links 55 each of which is pivotally connected at its inner end to a different one of the anchoring pins 32. At their outer ends, the links 55 are provided with transverse openings 56 each of which is adapted to receive a different one of a pair of pins 57 that project laterally outwardly of a respective one of the conveyor frame members 38. Like the anchoring pins 32, the pins 57 are preferably provided with cotter keys or clips 58 for preventing accidental removal of the links 55 from the pins 57. As shown, when the shredder and conveyor attachments are both in their operative positions of FIG. 1, the shredder rotor 22 and blades 23 thereof are positioned to operate on material being conveyed to the hammer mill by the conveyor belt 41. It will also be appreciated that the shredder attachment may be moved to its storage position independently of the conveyor attachment 37, so that material may be conveyed to the hammer mill without being engaged by the shredder blades 23 when such feeding is desired. It will be further noted that, when the shredder and conveyor attachments are both disposed in their upper storage positions, both thereof are contained well within the lateral limits of the machine on which they are mounted, the lateral limits being defined by the supporting wheels 2.

The shredder attachment housing 18 and conveyor frame members 38 are provided with respective handles 59 and 60 by means of which the housing 18 and conveyor 37 may be conveniently raised or lowered as desired. Further, the side walls 21 of the shredder attachment housing 18 are provided with guide clips or the like 61 that engage the frame members 38 and aid in maintaining alignment between the shredder attachment housing 18 and the conveyor attachment 37. For the purpose of aiding in the raising of the shredder attachment from its operative to its storage position, a pair of counterbalancing springs 62 are provided, each being connected at one end to one of a pair of pins or anchoring members 63 projecting laterally outwardly from a different one of the hammer mill side walls 16, the springs being secured at their opposite ends to adjacent ones of the mounting arms 26, as indicated at 64. The conveyor attachment 37 is also counterbalanced as shown more or less diagrammatically in FIG. 6, by a coil tension spring 65 connected at one end to the frame member 1 by means of a bracket or like supporting member 66. The opposite end of the spring 65 is connected to one end of a pair of flexible cables 67 that are entrained over respective ones of a pair of spaced pulleys 68 suitably journalled in the frame 1, and other pulleys 69 journalled on shafts 70 that project laterally outwardly from the hammer mill casing side walls 16. The other ends of the cables 67 are secured to anchoring pins or the like 71 projecting laterally outwardly from the opposite conveyor frame members 38. Preferably, the springs 62 and 65 are not sufficiently strong to raise their respective attachments by themselves.

.The springs 62 and 65 are used only as an aid to the operator in raising the attachments to their storage positions.

While I have shown and described a commercial embodiment of means for mounting auxiliary apparatus, such as shredder attachment and a conveyor attachment, to a portable feed mill and mixer, it will be understood that the same is capable of modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the claims. I

What is claimed is:

1. In a portable feed mill and mixer having a frame structure, a hammer mill casing on the frame structure including side walls and a drive shaft journalled in the casing:

a. a shredder attachment including a housing having spaced side walls, a rotor in the housing, a rotor shaft journalled in bearings at said housing side walls, and drive means including an endless drive belt operatively connecting said drive and rotor shafts;

b. shredder mounting means mounting said shredder attachment on said hammer mill casing for movements between a lower operative position and a raised storage position;

0. shredder holding means for releasably locking said shredder attachment in said storage position;

d. a material infeed conveyor including an elongated frame and an endless flexible conveyor element carried by said elongated frame;

e. conveyor mounting means mounting said elongated frame at one end thereof on said casing for swinging movements between a generally horizontal operative position and a raised generally vertical storage position when said shredder attachment is disposed in its said storage position;

f. conveyor holding and means for releasably locking said infeed conveyor in said storage position thereof.

2. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said shredder mounting means comprises a pair of elongated mounting arms having one of their ends pivotally secured to the side walls of said hammer mill casing on alignedgenerally horizontal axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft, the other ends of said arms being fixed each to a different one of said housing side walls.

3. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 2 in which said shredder holding means comprises a pair of anchoring elements one on each of the side walls of said hammer mill casing, and a pair of rigid links each secured to a different one of said mounting arms and releasably secured to an adjacent one of said anchoring elements.

4. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 2 in which the axis of pivotal movement of said shredder attachment is so disposed relative to the axis of said drive shaft and rotor shaft that the axis of said rotor shaft is disposed a predetermined distance from the drive shaft axis and just below an extended plane defined by said drive shaft axis and said axis of pivotal movement, when said shredder attachment is in its operative position, said rotor shaft axis being disposed at the opposite side of said plane and substantially nearer the axis of said drive shaft when said shredder attachment is pivotally moved to said storage position thereof.

5. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 4, characterized by counterbalancing spring means connected to said casing and said mounting arms and yieldingly urging said shredder attachment toward said storage position thereof.

6. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said infeed conveyor includes a pair of parallel rollers on shafts journalled each at an opposite end thereof, said conveyor element comprising an endless flexible belt entrained over said rollers, said frame mounting means including one of said roller shafts, a pair of brackets each mounted to an opposite side of said hammer mill casing and having bearings in which said one of the shafts is axially disposed, said conveyor frame being moved between said operative and storage positions on the axis of said one of the roller shafts.

7. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, characterized by a brace leg having one end connected to said conveyor frame and an opposite end engaging said frame structure, when said infeed conveyor is moved to its operative position, to support said infeed conveyor longitudinally outwardly with respect to said bearing brackets.

8. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, characterized by counterbalancing means including a spring element yieldingly urging said infeed conveyor toward the storage position thereof.

9. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, in which said conveyor holding means comprises an elongated rigid link having opposite inner and outer ends and a transverse opening through said outer end, means pivotally connecting said inner end to one side of said hammer mill casing on an axis parallel to the axis of said one of the roller shafts, and a pin projecting laterally from said elongated conveyor frame for reception in said transverse opening in the link when said infeed connector is pivotally moved to its storage position.

10. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said shredder mounting means comprises a pair of mounting arms having inner ends pivotally secured to the side walls of said hammer mill casing on aligned generally horizontal axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft, the other ends of said arms being fixed each to a different one of said housing side walls; said shredder holding means comprising a pair of anchoring pins projecting laterally outwardly from opposite ones of the casing side walls on axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft and spaced from said first mentioned aligned axes, and a pair of links each connected to a different one of said arms and each having an outer end defining an opening for reception of a respective one of said anchoring pins.

11. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 10 in which said conveyor holding means comprises a pair of elongated link members each having an inner end pivotally mounted on one of said anchoring pins, said elongated frame having a pair of anchoring members each projecting from an opposite side of said elongated frame, said link members each having an outer end releasably locked to a respective one of said anchoring members.

t 1 t l t 

1. In a portable feed mill and mixer having a frame structure, a hammer mill casing on the frame structure including side walls and a drive shaft journalled in the casing: a. a shredder attachment including a housing having spaced side walls, a rotor in the housing, a rotor shaft journalled in bearings at said housing side walls, and drive means including an endlEss drive belt operatively connecting said drive and rotor shafts; b. shredder mounting means mounting said shredder attachment on said hammer mill casing for movements between a lower operative position and a raised storage position; c. shredder holding means for releasably locking said shredder attachment in said storage position; d. a material infeed conveyor including an elongated frame and an endless flexible conveyor element carried by said elongated frame; e. conveyor mounting means mounting said elongated frame at one end thereof on said casing for swinging movements between a generally horizontal operative position and a raised generally vertical storage position when said shredder attachment is disposed in its said storage position; f. conveyor holding and means for releasably locking said infeed conveyor in said storage position thereof.
 2. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said shredder mounting means comprises a pair of elongated mounting arms having one of their ends pivotally secured to the side walls of said hammer mill casing on aligned generally horizontal axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft, the other ends of said arms being fixed each to a different one of said housing side walls.
 3. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 2 in which said shredder holding means comprises a pair of anchoring elements one on each of the side walls of said hammer mill casing, and a pair of rigid links each secured to a different one of said mounting arms and releasably secured to an adjacent one of said anchoring elements.
 4. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 2 in which the axis of pivotal movement of said shredder attachment is so disposed relative to the axis of said drive shaft and rotor shaft that the axis of said rotor shaft is disposed a predetermined distance from the drive shaft axis and just below an extended plane defined by said drive shaft axis and said axis of pivotal movement, when said shredder attachment is in its operative position, said rotor shaft axis being disposed at the opposite side of said plane and substantially nearer the axis of said drive shaft when said shredder attachment is pivotally moved to said storage position thereof.
 5. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 4, characterized by counterbalancing spring means connected to said casing and said mounting arms and yieldingly urging said shredder attachment toward said storage position thereof.
 6. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said infeed conveyor includes a pair of parallel rollers on shafts journalled each at an opposite end thereof, said conveyor element comprising an endless flexible belt entrained over said rollers, said frame mounting means including one of said roller shafts, a pair of brackets each mounted to an opposite side of said hammer mill casing and having bearings in which said one of the shafts is axially disposed, said conveyor frame being moved between said operative and storage positions on the axis of said one of the roller shafts.
 7. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, characterized by a brace leg having one end connected to said conveyor frame and an opposite end engaging said frame structure, when said infeed conveyor is moved to its operative position, to support said infeed conveyor longitudinally outwardly with respect to said bearing brackets.
 8. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, characterized by counterbalancing means including a spring element yieldingly urging said infeed conveyor toward the storage position thereof.
 9. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 6, in which said conveyor holding means comprises an elongated rigid link having opposite inner and outer ends and a transverse opening through said outer end, means pivotally connecting said inner end to one side of said hammer mill casing on an axis parallel to the axis of said one of the roller shafts, and a pin projEcting laterally from said elongated conveyor frame for reception in said transverse opening in the link when said infeed connector is pivotally moved to its storage position.
 10. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 1 in which said shredder mounting means comprises a pair of mounting arms having inner ends pivotally secured to the side walls of said hammer mill casing on aligned generally horizontal axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft, the other ends of said arms being fixed each to a different one of said housing side walls; said shredder holding means comprising a pair of anchoring pins projecting laterally outwardly from opposite ones of the casing side walls on axes parallel to the axis of said drive shaft and spaced from said first mentioned aligned axes, and a pair of links each connected to a different one of said arms and each having an outer end defining an opening for reception of a respective one of said anchoring pins.
 11. The portable feed mill and mixer defined in claim 10 in which said conveyor holding means comprises a pair of elongated link members each having an inner end pivotally mounted on one of said anchoring pins, said elongated frame having a pair of anchoring members each projecting from an opposite side of said elongated frame, said link members each having an outer end releasably locked to a respective one of said anchoring members. 